MISSING in Northern Ireland!
Songbirds Are Friends Not Food
The following 3 birds are most at risk, and MISSING in YOUR region!
Greenfinch -82%
Skylark -28%
Reed Bunting -28%
#FriendsNotFood
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Please help us find them by looking out of your window, or going for a walk or hike in your local area.
Download and share our handy ‘missing’ posters below.
They help to find out important facts about the species:
1. Appearance
2. Where it's found
3. What it eats & how to feed them
4. How to help them
#FindOurFriends
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Skylark -28%
(Alauda arvensis)
Greenfinch -82%
(Carduelis chloris)
Reed Bunting -28%
(Emberiza schoeniclus)
Alert Status: Red
Identifying Features: The skylark is a small brown bird, somewhat larger than a sparrow but smaller than a starling. It is streaky brown with a small crest, which can be raised when the bird is excited or alarmed, and a white-sided tail. The wings also have a white rear edge, visible in flight
Average Length: 18-19 cm
Average Lifespan: 2 years
Average Wingspan: 30-36 cm
Beak type: Black, brown, short, medium thickness
Eats: Generalist
Nesting: Skylarks breed on meadows, salt marshes, heaths and farmland. The nest is a cup on the ground made from grass and hair.
Where to see: Skylarks are found everywhere in the UK. Likes open countryside, from lowland farmland to upland moorland. Often inconspicuous on the ground, it is easy to see when in its distinctive song flight.
Alert Status: Green
Identifying Features: Mostly olive green with a yellow tinge to the underbelly with yellow to the outer wings. Usually brighter in summer.
Average Length: 15cm
Average Lifespan: 2 Years
Average Wingspan: 25-28 cm
Beak type: Seeds
Eats: Seeds, wild fruit & berries
How to feed: Hanging feeders & bird tables
What to feed: Sunflower hearts, black sunflower seeds, seed mixtures
Nesting: Usually in colonies in dense shrubs, constructed of twigs & grass lined with fine roots & hair
Where to see: Common UK birds found in woodland, hedges and gardens.
Alert Status: Amber
Identifying Features: Reed Buntings are sparrow-sized streaky, brown birds. The males have black heads and black throats, with a white collar and white 'moustache'. Female buntings, including female Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings, can be very difficult to tell apart.
Average Length: 15-16 cm
Average Lifespan: 3 years
Average Wingspan: 21-25 cm
Beak type: Seeds
Natural: Seeds and invertebrates
Nesting: The nest is a cup of grass and moss built on the ground but usually among reeds or grasses in a wet or marshy place. Fine grasses and hair are used to line the cup.
Where to see: Reed buntings are predominantly a farmland and wetland bird. Typically found in wet vegetation but has recently spread into farmland and, in winter, into gardens. When singing the male usually perched on top of a bush, or reed.